time resident in district 10. as a retired public school teacher of the san francisco unified school district in the city college of san francisco, it is the dream of teachers like me to see young folks like you doing such meaningful work. and what an impressive representation tonight. you should give yourself a big hand for that. you get more used to be involved in your inspirational works. i have been working with neighborhood leaders as a community advisory board from the asian pacific island police, and the bay view police station. we are thankful that under the leadership and hard work of captains and officers, there has been a big dent in crime in san

francisco. it is the concern that i am here to thank them and the san francisco police department. for many years, members of the police department have conducted a christmas toy drives her children in san francisco. it consists of several public events where toys and funds are collected and distributed to children in public housing, low- income neighborhoods, and neighborhoods in the. i want to thank the chief going to the different schools and the golden rule that it just makes sense for everyone to be kind to everyone else. it is a simple message that is meaningful and inspirational to everyone, regardless of age. >> hello, commissioners. i am the executive director of the 43-year-old non-profit in

the south of market, and one of our programs is four k-12. and because we are located in one of the not so nice neighborhoods, i have always had nightmares about one of our kids being molested, kidnapped, a golden. we came up with this child safety program. about four months ago, i invited the police to brief our students about how to protect themselves when they are going home or coming from school. i almost fell out of my chair, because they came to talk to my kids.

to tell my kids about what to do if they are being accosted in the street, how to be safe, how to wear backpacks, how to keep your cellphone when someone is demanding it. and more importantly, the response of the safe haven program. it is designed to increase the safety of our kids, and i like to show you. if you're ever walking on market street, if you see a side like this, it means is safe for you to go inside the establishment because the store owner agrees to shelter use of you will be safe. >> i am a teacher at letter of elementary and the mission district.

i am here in support of the wilderness program. the officer has come to our school for years now, and my students love it. i don't know if you ever got to go on that truck, it is a special trip that they get to go on. i think i had to out of the five class's ever been to angel island. it gives them an opportunity to meet an officer. he has his gun on him, they ask questions and it is an awesome opportunity for them to build a different kind of relationship. he comes back, they are excited to see him in the hallway. he has become a fixture. it is also a great blank his advances though history, if you are involved with education at all, yet of the experiential

living is the best you can do. it builds community when we go there. i want to say that the wilderness program as a valuable tool in terms of building the relationship. i hope that it gets to stick around. >> i noticed some of the school resource officers are here tonight. when it be possible to introduce some of the resource officers before they go? for budgetary reasons, we can't have everybody, but the public may be can see our school resource officers? all of you? please introduce yourself and what station you work at home. >> we will get back to public comment once we get through the

introductions. >> it is a pleasure to be here. i am currently at mission station. i have had a great honor of being a resource officer for the past 10 years in serving as liaison for the district. thank you for bringing us all together. i am honored and proud, especially of young people. hong >>-the school resource officer at the central district. >> i work at the end of outside police station. and i have been on and off for about 12 years. >> in both sides addition, i have been doing it for about three years. it is good to see you guys out here voicing your opinion.

we are willing to listen. >> thank you for having me. i have a resource officer in the bayview district. it has been three years. >> have a liaison officer with the boys and girls club. thank you. >> thank you for coming tonight. [applause] >> i apologize if my messages kind of a fire and brimstone message. i have questions at the end of the police commissioner wants to respond. i heard the youth commission

chair said this meeting is the best way to hear from youth and the best way to revise the mayor on issues concerning the use. how what to say that i disagree. i will leave that at that. we have to remember, upholding the loving relationship is not official police business and not what they get paid for. our youth is under the false pretense that the police is here to be your friend. that is a very colorful notion, but it is not true. the police officers duty is to serve and present -- to protect members of their jurisdiction. this is a dangerous, risky, and most of the time impossible task. that they render impoverished communities, they probably wouldn't be so anxious to develop relationships that often

times come to an end when an officer of this takes one's demeanor or person. we should tell the use of the truth. you can't assure that all of their ideas and their issues will be addressed because you have a hard and dangerous job to do. i have 15 seconds, what i really want to say is that if we focus on the-officers and find some way to root them out, maybe connect with -- i have a few ideas i want to put out there. if we can get a list of officers we feel threatened by a -- [chime] if we can get those officers, there are hot -- and god bless you. >> good evening, commissions. my name is frederick williams. i am 15 leaders old.

i had to interactions with the police in the past years. the first interaction is what i was a years old. i sigh, on a motorcycle, so i noticed he turned around and came towards me. i got scared and started writing live by -- writing my bike home. i stop at home, and he hells -- yells and tells me to get on my knees and put me in handcuffs. all they needed was to see if i was a suspect in the crime committed earlier in the day. as an 8-year-old, really? the second was well as trying to join an explorer program known as a junior police academy. the adviser asked me what my name was, and this was the same city that my dad was arrested in several times, so i told them.

they said, i will give you a: there is an opening in the program. one month passes by and i left him a voice message and i got no reply. i was informed that a couple us had joined the program since. i felt he didn't want me in the program because of my dad's actions. they should make an effort to build relationships with youth and talk to them, and see what is going on instead of treating them like criminals. no child should have to go through this. >> i am 17 and a senior at the high school. i live across the street from the police station. the youth tend to forget that the police are on the same side as us. we want the same goals, to put the criminals and the bad guys behind bars. at my community has one of the

highest concentrations of children and one of the highest crime rates in the city. i am tired of going to school every day asking if i want like a den, pills, crack. i want to say to the police here, i love you guys. do us a favor and let the user help you guys. there are youth out there that want to dedicate our time. even if it means putting your life on the line, we want to make your job easier. as abraham lincoln once stand -- and said, a divided house will not stand. have to come together as a community. if you want to change the world, you have to change the continent. everybody asks, can we come together to fix problems in the

community, thank you. >> my name is frank, i am on the board of directors at the san francisco youth fishing program. i have been a fisherman all my life. i take kids fishing with the police and i have nothing but positive things to say about the work that the police department has done in this realm. they have taken 1500 young people a year out fishing. these are guys that are gang members, we take people from all walks of life. every district, hunters point, you name it. i have seen major changes in a lot of the folks that come out fishing. i have seen them get health and to police jobs, i have seen them become firemen, and i have seen

a couple of them do my job. we have been doing this for 44 years. 1500 kids a year, it has taken a lot of people off the street and introducing them to something that is very healthy and wholesome. the police have been the ambassadors to the youth of this city. you have no veteran diplomat and then them. i have seen the relationships change on a wide level. if they had more resources, they could do more of that kind of work. that is how i feel. >> i don't quite know how the fall of that, but i am one of those that came through the program. i currently work for the san francisco recreation and parks department. as captain frank said, i

started out in the program in 1977, so it has been awhile since i haven't been used. we have taken some of the kids out either through my vote, and i can't tell you of the magic that happens when a kid catches fish. it works on both sides. i also want to speak to the fact that my department did a very unique program this year where we took a bunch chicana and got various city agencies involved. from that, we have so many from the guidance center that are working in our department. currently, and the coordinator for alternative recreation.

wilderness programs, fishing programs. we did a unique partnership of the fishing program where we took the kids fishing and they went and cook it for their parents. without these partnerships, i can't do what i do. we need to keep them going and hopefully the chief, the general manager, not only will they be strengthened, it will be much better for everybody in the city. >> my name is emily, i have a fifth grader. i think that when officer rivera came to tinto island, we learned a lot more.

[applause] >> my class went on a trip to the angel island with officer mike. i never get to go on boats very often. we would never hiked 6 miles, but i did. the reason that i want to make this field trip happene is to have fun and get dirty. i would like to have this field trip every year so that kids who don't get enough exercise can

have an opportunity to-6 miles and mostly have fun. i want to thank officer mike for taking my kids to the island. please don't cut this pro gram. president mazzucco: thank you. [applause] >> i'm a fifth grader at west peraarl elementary school. they are amazing to learn and to see. [unintelligible] i have been the angel of my parents and i find that even more when a police officer -- it is a good way to befriend a police officer. i thought that they dished out discipline when people break laws. i realized that they are

friendly storytellers and know a lot of history. i've become more aware of the history that was written and painted on the walls by the chinese immigrants. angel island offers activities for us kids. i think that kids learn many interesting things about angel island through the field for a program. i have always had fun with my classmates on this field trip. i want other kids to have fun also. i think maintaining this educational program is important. >> i am apparent in support of the program. i want to briefly make three points. we have often referred to this

society of this country has a melting pot, combine the differences together that contributes to the richness of today's culture and history. angel island offers a valuable historical point of view. we can learn a lot from textbooks, but there is really no substitute for our visit to the sideline and cultural traits are introduced. it seems to me that there is more emphasis on class and course work and less time for physical activity and social interaction. the kids are more distracted and caught up with today's technological advances, and as a parent, i prefer to hear that my son has scraped his elbows and then complaining about his shoulder from learning how to play video games. these outdoor activities are

much healthier. finally, i think our kids see and hear about police actions from media reports. i think the future payments for them is that there is some sort of violence involved when the police officer does his or her job. by contrast, if you picture this on a beautiful san francisco bay, a bunch of kids sitting next to the police officers chatting away. this really possesses a different picture. you can hear comments from the kids like to do know that officer joe has kids have the school? or officer kelly really knows a lot about baseball. it is a wonderful opportunity for kids to connect with a police officer and five that he or she is the parent or a past graduates. the police officer is a regular

person. it is a great opportunity for social interaction for kids go and not attract such as angel island. >> have a fourth grade teacher at an elementary school. i am the teacher of the wonderful to of and that just spoke. i am here to speak on behalf of officer michael rivera. officer rivera is paying it forward. he provides children with experiences they are not likely to have elsewhere. they have self-reliance and cooperation. and most importantly, he and establishes a positive first link between the children and the s.f. pd. he will ultimately benefit from his work.

>> i am a fifth grade teacher at west portal elementary. each year since 1986, my students have participated in an outdoor educational adventure with the sfpd wilderness program. we of got backpacking trips, hiking 5.5 miles into the wilderness. we of gone hiking in the last several years on the hike to angel island. the children always come back with a sense of community, and my other parents and children have also alluded to that. they come back talking about what an officer said, what they did, how much fun they had, and tired. the self-esteem they gain from

these interactions is amazing. by stephen c. police officers as regular, caring, fun people. this is in contrast to what they usually see, the negative images in the news or in their neighborhoods. former students return to school and tell me of meeting an officer, somewhere in the city, an officer the ygot to - -they g- -- they got to know on these adventures. i see their smiles, i know. they talk about different situations being defused by one of their wilderness trips. i am a strong supporter of the wilderness program, 25 years says it all. i hope that my future students will also be able to

participate. thank you. >> i am a parent of a fourth grader at west portal elementary school. i want to thank you for having programs like this wilderness program. i was fortunate this last fall to be able to go on the trip as a chaperon, and it was a fantastic experience. it really became apparent that this was the first time the lot of the children got a chance to interact directly with a police officer. in the beginning, they seemed very nervous. they didn't know what to do and they didn't know what to say. by the end of the trip, they were having a great time with the police officers on the trip. it was a nice and unusually warm day.

i would say for a lot of these children, it was alive changing experience. i am here to thank you again for having a program like this. thank you. >> imf program manager for an organization called environmental traveling companions. we provide the rafting in the other trips we are hearing about. i grew up here in san francisco, and i got my first job in college with the wilderness program. i became a rough guide into a lot more kids out. this evening i have been surprised to hear a lot of people like the hiking bettas and rafting. how want to express sincere support for the wilderness

program, not just for introducing me to a life of working, but all of the awesome trips we have been provided. all of the volunteer guides are people like you. they go with the youth and officers, we do white water rafting in the skiing. i believe in my youth leadership program that i did what i was 14, it came from a partnership between the lotus program. the of the good work. i would love to see more youth leaders we can employ and the program and have them doing what we do. >> my name is brandon jackson, i worked at the end of side district, i am a case manager.

i've got the kids that were told they would never be nothing. and my goal at comes to that is to build self-esteem. it is hard to build self-esteem and the kids leave the center every day. they just bring down the self- esteem telling me they will be nothing. they think because they're brother of a mess of life, they will have the mass of life. i feel like i am putting the time and effort to build self- esteem, helping them feel good about themselves, and getting back to those that made me feel good about myself. they come and talk to me about some of the problems, i engaged with them and give them the best. they say it is hard, we don't

do nothing to them. they set us down, taking into the station, if we are over 18, and to me, i feel like that is the problem. the solution is that we have to find some sort of solution to engage the kids. did the police to place some kind of basketball, board games, card games. some way to engage the kids and let them know that people do change. just believe, think about like they can change. if you help me bring them up, you don't have to deal with them no more. they're appos -- opposed to messing their minds up.